I think only cheap, simple utilities will find themselves deployed on the Windows Store. Major applications are going to stay on native Windows. The reason being, Windows Store and Metro are, if I understand this correctly, strictly Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) based which runs off of DirectDraw. That offers a lot of hardware capability not seen in a lot of desktop applications but at the same time, severe limitations (namely 3D). The games that are practical in Windows Store are the likes of those found on tablets and phones (e.g Angry Birds), not full screen games like Skyrim, Metro 2033, and the lot.

Let's put it in perspective: bringing the Windows Store to desktops allows you access to most of the programs and features available on Windows Phone 7 while maintaining the capability to act like a desktop is expected to (Windows 7). Yes, there's a learning curve but you're literally getting the best of both worlds.

Add to the fact that Metro lives on the .NET codebase allows Microsoft great flexibility in moving applications forward. Old applications could easily be made to work with hardware that hasn't even been dreamt up yet.

So...I think people (Gabe included) need to take a "chill pill," let Windows come out in October, use it for a few weeks, then make up your mind. This gush of prejudice happens with every Windows pre-release because Microsoft does pre-releases so developers can get their programs ready for it.

I think Microsoft could eliminate all this bad publicity if they required people to prove they need a pre-release version instead of making it available free to everyone.

how many of our users will be able to do that after they migrated to linux to play steam games?

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C'mon Wiz, I agree you are close to the truth, but also a bit hard. If Gabe wants to port to Linux, he is also going to pay for peops to lubricate the gears. Maybe you might get some?

For me, I'm totally bored with Windows and would love to run a linux gaming rig. More control, more hassles, more reasons to frequent tech forums - all the reasons I am a tech head. Bring it on Steam, bring it on.

“Valve wouldn’t exist today without the PC,” he insisted, “or Epic, or Zynga, or Google. They all wouldn’t have existed without the openness of the platform. There’s a strong temptation to close the platform, because they look at what they can accomplish when they limit the competitors’ access to the platform, and they say, ‘That’s really exciting.’

“We are looking at the platform and saying, ‘We’ve been a free rider, and we’ve been able to benefit from everything that went into PCs and the Internet, and we have to continue to figure out how there will be open platforms.”

I can't really be sure how I feel about W8 before I actually use it, but my experience on the preview version wasn't very good. Metro simply doesn't look like it's mouse and keyboard friendly. Now, on a tablet or phone, it looks like it has a lot of potential. My greatest fear for W8 is that it will completely alienate business users. Some people I work with already have enough trouble using Windows XP, which is a UI that is quite user friendly, and which most people that use PCs have known for a while now.

Now, perhaps some changes have been made since I tried the preview versions. That remains to be seen. Also, the OS itself underneath the UI seems very good. It's basically an optimized version of W7, which is already very good.

What is means for gaming, though, I'm not sure. What I think Mr. Newell overlooks is that W8 might not be very important at all for Microsoft. W7 works very well right now, and there's really nothing that would force people to upgrade to W8. Microsoft might be actually using W8 as an experiment with a new UI, knowing very well that W7 is the fallback people are most likely to use should they not like it, not Linux or Mac.

If I remember correctly, once W8 is released, you can't install Apps that have not been certified and bought/downloaded through the apps store.

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that can't be right. I can see them trying to push that, but there is no way it will be as locked down as you make it sound. you will be able to install executeables you downloaded from your browser, for sure.

that can't be right. I can see them trying to push that, but there is no way it will be as locked down as you make it sound. you will be able to install executeables you downloaded from your browser, for sure.

maybe you'll have to find a work-around, but i would bet it'll simply be a system setting akin to and "install applications from other sources" setting, if even that is required.

don't get me wrong, if it is how you say that is ridiculous. i doubt it is though. that doesn't mean i doubt microsoft's intent, just their courage.

PS3 WAS a total disaster in 2009. even now it hasn't fully recovered. they had to take a loss on consoles sales just to gain enough market share to sell some games. he was absolutely right in 2009, and his concerns are absolutely valid now.

we KNOW microsoft wants to close the platform
we KNOW that is bad for developers overall

where is the confusion? the exact level to which windows 8 will be locked down is unknown to us, i doubt it will be fully locked down but if it's enough to force even 10-20% of customers to microsft store, that is HUGE. maybe gabe knows more.

we KNOW microsoft wants to close the platform
we KNOW that is bad for developers overall

the exact level to which windows 8 will be locked down is unknown to us, i doubt it will be fully locked down but if it's enough to force even 10-20% of customers to microsft store, that is HUGE.

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They don't close the platform. They just use the "unification" strategy. It's no longer news to anyone. They have Windows phone, Xbox and now they have Surface. It's understandable. Apple does it with their iOS, Google does it with their Android. And Windows was never that open in the first place. And what's so catastrophic about this? Applications that worked under 7 will most likely work under 8 and devs can always write their code for windows 8.

IF windows 8 gets totally locked down only then it'll be a catastrophe. And tbh it'll be a bigger catostrophe to Microsoft itself than its customers. People will switch to macs and nixes. And frankly Linux should have been much more popular than it is now, it's an awesome OS. Because of consumers' stupidity and vendors'/devs' greed Linux never got attention it really deserved.